Human Rights Watch accused China of shirking its responsibilities...

Human Rights Watch accused China of shirking its responsibilities by seeking to classify North Korean refugees as illegal immigrants and return them to almost certain persecution.
"Given the appalling human rights situation in North Korea, China needs to provide protection to North Koreans on its territory, not send them back," said Brad Adams, executive director of the New York-based watchdog's Asia Division.
"The Chinese government must not try to evade its international legal responsibility by categorizing North Korean asylum seekers and refugees as illegal immigrants," Adams said.
Human rights groups estimate there are around 300,000 North Koreans in China who have sought to escape a debilitating famine and oppression in their Stalinist homeland.
But questioned about the issue on March 6, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing insisted there were no such refugees in China.
"The people that you are talking about are not refugees, they are illegal immigrants. It is very important to be clear about this," Li told a media briefing on the sidelines of the National People's Congress, China's parliament. Human Rights Watch said repatriating refugees as illegal immigrants meant sending them back to almost certain imprisonment, or worse.
"It is well documented ... that North Koreans who left without state permission are detained, tortured and even executed on return to their country. Their fear of persecution is more than well founded," said Adams. China is obliged to return illegal immigrants to North Korea in accordance with a bilateral consular agreement.